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Willi_H2O

Garmin GPS 60 - NMEA devices

By Willi_H2O on Apr 28, 2009 at 12:16 AM 4 Vote 0 Votes

I desire to hook a handheld Garmin GPS 60 that has a 4 pin NMEA 0183 port to some sensors to capture water temperature and depth.

I'm finding it impossible to get a straight answer out of Garmin tech support weenies and haven't found anything on the internet.

I'm looking for pure KISS =keep it simple stupid.

Kayaking usage for capture of stream/river depths and temperatures.
Many foolish kayakers in Michigan completely unaware that many lakes and rivers are still 45-50 degrees with water over their head in April and May.

Data would also be shared with Fish & Game, DNR and EPA personnel

Please respond if you have detailed knowledge how to make this happen for relatively cheap $$$$.
Hell the GPS unit is under 150 dollars on the internet
BUT it does come with the NMEA 0183 port on the back.

4 Replies

  • Ben E
    Ben E | April 28, 2009 11:21 PM

    Willi, the first part is fairly easy, though maybe not as cheap as you'd like. An Airmar NMEA 0183 Smart triducer will feed the Garmin 60 water depth, temp, and also boat speed info via its 0183 RX port.

    The harder part is logging the data. The only way I know of is to output it, via the Garmin's 0183 TX port, to a PC charting program like Coastal Explorer. But that's not KISS, or even possible in a kayak. Maybe someone else will have an idea.

  • Sandy Daugherty
    Sandy Daugherty | April 29, 2009 8:50 AM

    There might be a simpler sollution, using an NMEA Data Logger. Start here:

    http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~robk/

    or google "nmea data logger" Several of these can capture GPS position at a set interval and download to several different charting software packages. Some of the more sophisticated packages, while still pocket-sized, might capture depth, temp, and speed, so that you can derive the speed of the current in a stream. Keep us posted! Such a gadget could be useful in charting a pond or small bay that has escaped the recent attention of NOAA....

  • Russ
    Russ | April 30, 2009 12:05 PM

    There are lots of loggers out there, start with a Google search for NMEA data loggers. Here are a couple:

    http://brookhouseonline.com/nmealogger.htm
    http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~robk/logger-gps-comparison.html

  • Rebecca | October 19, 2009 11:18 AM

    Recently I bought a new GPS device. To be exact I bought a Garmin n�vi 760 and I am very happy with it. Before I had another one and to be honest I was not very satisfied with it. Now with the Garmin I am very happy.